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“Incidents take place.” A mere phrase. That’s all it took for Donald Trump to brush off what is arguably the most notorious murder of a reporter of the past ten years – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the facts.

The Context

The American leader’s dismissive attitude of the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the CIA found in a 2021 report had orchestrated the abduction and murder of the journalist in that year. (The crown prince has rejected accusations.)

The American spy agencies were not the sole entities to determine the homicide – which took place in the Saudi diplomatic building in Istanbul and in which the late journalist was drugged and cut apart – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by then UN special rapporteur, Agnès Callamard, reached similar conclusions.

International Response

For a brief period, nations were in agreement in their criticism of Saudi Arabia’s actions. The United States imposed sanctions and visa bans in 2021 over the killing, although it stopped short of penalizing the crown prince himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the leader’s trip to Washington seemed to be the ultimate sign of that rehabilitation.

White House Remarks

Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the visit. But what was on display at the presidential residence was more alarming than could have been anticipated. Not only did the president fete the Saudi leader but he seemed to alter the facts – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump claimed when asked, was unaware about the murder – in clear opposition to what his nation’s spy agencies determined previously. Moreover, the president said: “Many individuals didn’t like that person that you’re talking about, whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen.”

Pattern of Behavior

This marks a new and abject point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the facts – or for the press. He has smeared journalists (he called a news network, whose reporter asked the question about the journalist at the Saudi press conference “false information”), scolded them in public (he called one a “piggy” this week for asking about his relationship with the convicted sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein), sued news outlets for large amounts of money in vexatious law suits, and called for media groups he disapproves of to lose their licenses.

He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his choosing, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and vital independent media abroad.

Wider Consequences

All of that has fostered an environment in which journalists are clearly more vulnerable in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed killing – becomes not just unimportant (“incidents occur”) but acceptable (“a lot of people disliked that gentleman”).

It is no surprise that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the over three decades the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has been documenting this information: a ongoing neglect to bring to justice those accountable for reporter murders has established a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are literally able to escape punishment and so persist in these actions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is accountable for the deaths of more than 200 journalists in the recent period.

Effect on Society

The impact on the public is deep. Targeting reporters are assaults on facts. They are attacks on facts. They are attacks on our entitlement to information and on our freedom to exist without fear and securely.

This week, the Committee to Protect Journalists gathers for its annual International Press Freedom awards. My message at the event is the identical as my message for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they cease.